


Bourbon & Broken Hearts

by Rylee_Writes



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Character Study, M/M, Pre-Slash, Relationship Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 20:28:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16817887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rylee_Writes/pseuds/Rylee_Writes
Summary: A study of Damon and Alaric's relationship from the end of season 1 to season 2





	Bourbon & Broken Hearts

Alaric isn’t really sure when he stopped hating Damon for what he did to Isobel, or more accurately, what Isobel wanted him to do to her, but he finds himself being more angry at Isobel than he is at Damon. It’s strange, more than a little strange, if he’s being honest, but he can’t say that he completely hates it. 

Damon seems to enjoy annoying Stefan and Alaric wonders how long it’ll be till Damon pushes too far and Stefan snaps. It’s gotten even worse ever since Isobel swept in and destroyed everyone's lives before fucking off again. Alaric really wishes he had just let her compel him, instead of only pretending to let it happen. 

He hasn’t really talked to anyone since she left and he can’t say he’s looking forward to it when they finally do find him and drag him back into the whole vampires vs. founding families bullshit that Alaric isn’t really sure is ever going to end. Even if all of those vampires are killed, there will always be another threat, something else that the Salvatores will need help with. 

Maybe he should just leave town while he can still get away with it. 

He still doesn’t even think about saying no when Damon tells him the tomb vampires are getting ready to attack. He doesn’t think he would have been able to say no even if it had occurred to him. 

Everything that happens next is kind of a blur with everything happening so quickly. Alaric sees vampires dropping like flies and he knows that Bonnie didn’t remove the spell from the weapon any more than Damon can pretend he doesn’t have feelings. None of them really make an effort to keep him in the loop, but it’s not like he’s blind. It’s clear that Bonnie hates vampires and honestly Alaric doesn’t know why any of them believe she would do anything to help them. 

He can’t help but scan the crowds for a glimpse of the dark haired vampire and tries not to let it worry him when he finds no sign of him. He doesn’t even really have the time to get worried before he has to help Elena bail Stefan out of trouble and then they’re rushing off to try to save Damon. 

Alaric’s not really sure why Bonnie decided to save Damon, or more accurately allow Stefan the time he needed to save Damon, but he’s glad nonetheless. If the look on her face is anything to go by, it’s guilt for lying to Elena and nothing else. Maybe he shouldn’t be relieved that Damon is still breathing, but he doesn’t really want the other man dead anymore. He’d kind of like to stab him sometimes, but he’s pretty sure Damon has that effect on everyone. 

Alaric knows he should keep Damon at arm’s length, keep everyone at arm's length really, but Damon especially. Getting closer to the volatile vampire will do nothing but end badly, for the both of them. 

Alaric never does what’s good for him. 

After Damon is safe and everything looks like it’ll be fine, he comes to Alaric, which surprises the hell out of both of them. They shouldn’t like each other - hell, there’s a long list of reasons why they shouldn’t even be talking to each other, but for some reason they keep getting thrown together. Alaric has a feeling that’s not going to stop happening anytime soon. 

Nothing happens between them that day, they don’t even talk, but it’s a start. 

As it turns out, Katherine coming back - for Stefan, no less - sets Damon off the deep end. Stefan doesn’t want to admit it, but Alaric sees it for what it is. Damon’s hurt, just like Alaric’s hurt. Their situations aren’t really so different. 

Damon’s lashing out, trying to hurt everyone that cares about him and Alaric really hadn’t thought he was on that list until Damon’s hurling insults like it’s second nature, which it kind of is for him. He’s so used to pushing people away it doesn’t seem like he knows what to do with someone who could possibly become his friend. 

The insults aren’t anything he hasn’t heard before, and really they aren’t even insults. Just some hard truths that Alaric’s already accepted, mostly about Isobel and the choices she had made that led to their current predicament. He also gets called a homicidal history teacher, but that’s also kind of true so he can’t really argue it. 

He’s sure Damon will get bored eventually and go torment someone else. What surprises him is Damon sitting down next to him and pouring himself a drink. They’re technically at Damon’s house so it’s not completely out of character for the man, but it is a little strange to be sitting next to someone who not ten seconds ago was trying to piss Alaric off in some half-assed effort of isolating himself. 

“You should hate me. I deserve it.” 

Alaric isn’t really sure Damon wants an answer, but he does glance over at the other man. “I think you hate yourself enough for the both of us, don’t you?” 

Damon rolls his eyes, but doesn’t say anything else. 

They sit in a comfortable silence for a while, just drinking, before either of them speaks again. 

“She never loved me.” He takes a drink, looks more than a little miserable. He looks like he wants to say something else, but stops himself before he can. 

Alaric isn’t even sure what he can possibly say to that. He can relate to loving someone who couldn’t care less about him, but at least he knows that Isobel loved him once, even if that statement no longer holds true. He doesn’t know much about Katherine, other than the fact that she is apparently a manipulative liar who loves to toy with people. Not much different from Isobel, he supposes, although they are related so maybe that has something to do with it. 

“Love is overrated.” 

Damon snorts, gives Alaric a wry half smile. “That, my friend, is very true.”

They aren’t friends, not really, not yet, but in time they could be. For the first time since he met Damon Alaric finds himself not opposed to the idea.


End file.
